Mexico weekly ledger., 1887-10-27
In a CauUchtn's Tomb.

A Rome letter says: The Capuchin
brother, attired in his long habit Of
~ioarse brown frieze, his waist encir-
eled by a hempen rope, his stocking
less feet bound in sandals, mis- un-
trimmed beard and shorn head bare.
except for a dimiHat4ve skull-cap, Is q
familiar sight on the streets in Rome,
which he patiently tyaverses, carry
ing an earthen pitcher as a receptacle.
while he begs aims from house TO
house.
There is a peculiarly stolid express
sion on the face Of these men, as
though everything human, or, at all
events, everything bordering on the
highest attributes of humanity, had
been stamped out of their nature,
leaving a mere machine--an unwashei
one at that.
The Church of the Fraternity is in
the PIAZZA of the same name in thA
immediate vicinity of the Piazza Bar
berini. It was founded by Cardinal
Barberini, brother of-Pope Urban VIII.
in 1624-the same cardinal who was
the friend Of Milton when he visited
the Eternal city in 1858. The church
contains the tomb Of the founder and
many remarkable treasures Of art, in
Guiding the magnificent painting by
Guido, representing Michael tie
Archangel Trampling the Devil'-the
latter q portrait Of Pope Innocent X,
for whom the painter seems to have
lad an inyete-ate hatred
Passing through the church q few
steps to the right viii lead you to as
giiastly and at the anne tinsa as gro,
tesquely horrible a spectacle as the
most morbid searcher after fiesh,ereel-
ing experiences can possibly desire.
\ series OF four connected small apart-
ments, the floors of which are made al
earth said TO have been carried from
Jerusalem, contain the horrors Ispeak
Of. The walls and ceiling are literally
decorated with ornamented devices
constructed by cunning workmen out
of human boncs. The bones of tie
vertebra, wrists. and ankles are a.
ranged so as to describe circles and
curves. These figures are i~nterspersed
here and there with skulls, femurs and
humerus. tibias, fibulas, uinas and ra-
diu5.
The same horrid ornaments are ar.
ranged around the person of a de
ceased brother, who appears suspended
against the middle Of a wall, incased
in the coarse brown cloth, the gar
ment he lived, died and was buried in.
rhe dry skin clinging 10 the face OF
, Ihe skeleton grins in horrible mockery
as the living brother. his former com
panion in the flesh, conducts YOU
around this decorated charnel-house
He looks as though he chuckled ovel
the fact Of having been released from
the grave below to give place to {
brother mere recently dcluuct, for i
is the r,le of the fratcrnity-who are
compelled to make 4 small buria
ground meet the requirements Of fht
order-when 4 death takes place to iii:
up the longest inferred to make roou
for his successor.
There is a quality in the earth EN-
ployed that has the effect of prevent
ing decay of the body, drying it up it
mummy fashion, and preserving tbs
hair, presenting a far moro horrible
effect than If bleached bones were pre-
seutcd to view.
There is a weird uucauniness abou
this strange mixture Of the living an,
dead, and tie latter Invested of sol
emnity by environment OF orIfn
mental osteoiogy, while the air Of tn
survivor seems tOnei down to an I'm
natural sepuicilra.Gess-a sort OF half
way condition between life and ib'
ttimh.